A friend wrote to us about a young ill Palestinian mother who was recently arrested in the West Bank, and their efforts to free her. This is the kind of ocurrence that happens routinely, yet is rarely covered in the press. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel documented in 2008 how these kinds of actions are often used to recruit low-level collaborators, as described here. It is very rare to hear directly of the physical and psychological costs on those arrested and their families. See the letter below and click on the link at the end to learn more about this case, and how you can help.
Last Monday my dear friend Hiba was arrested by IDF soldiers in the
middle of the night. I ask you to join us in our efforts … Read entire article »

A picture of tear gas being shot by the Israeli army on unarmed protesters in the Palestinian village of Jayyous, who are holding Friday demonstrations to protest their land being taken by Israel. Photo by Mohammed Othman. You can follow what’s happening in Jayyous here.
… Read entire article »

This post is a bit of a departure for the website. While our focus is generally on what is happening in Israel and Palestine, we want to also occasionally draw the connections between the political culture here in the U.S. and in Israel and Palestine, and how they influence one another.
Yesterday in Manhattan and LA, protests were held at the Museum of Tolerance in each city. The occasion was an event to honor the Freedom … Read entire article »

By Rebecca Vilkomerson
Video of Adeeb Abu Rahmah being released
On a personal note, I remember very clearly the weekend that Adeeb was arrested. I was still living in Israel, and a friend from Anarchists Against the Wall was arrested with him. This friend was detained for over 24 hours, blindfolded, etc. This was fairly harsh treatment for a Jewish Israeli, and he told me all about it on our way to visit Tristan Anderson.
It’s still amazing … Read entire article »

Ofer Neiman (a regular contributor to The Only Democracy?) and Ayala Shani published this article in Hebrew in Haaretz. As is often the case, the most interesting, and cutting-edge discussions, don’t get translated into the English version of the paper, perhaps in fear of offending sensitive Jewish American sensibilities? In any case, the article has been translated by Dena Bugel-Shunra, of Shunra Media. It was originally published in English in Jews Sans Frontieres.
Only a boycott will persuade Israel
by Ayala Shani & Ofer Neiman
“Israel won’t change unless the status quo has a downside” – these words were written by journalist Tony Karon, a Jew from South Africa. This sentence reflects the rationale behind the broad BDS campaign – which includes sanctions, institutional boycott, and divestment – which has begun trickling down … Read entire article »

Ameer Makhoul has been in an Israeli jail for about six weeks now. Much of that time, he has been in solitary confinement and without access to a lawyer. He, his laywers, and his family say that he has been tortured, as we covered in a previous post. His trial is expected to begin in the next week.
His wife, Janan, is an incredible feminist activist in her own right. Nadia Hijab interviewed Janan on the … Read entire article »

A few days ago, I posted a video of a young child in Bil’in being arrested while working in his olive groves with his family. In the follow up video below, the child, Fadi Al-Khatib, talks about what happened after the last video left off, including being left blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back for hours before he ever reached prison, being hit in the neck and kicked, threatened with greater physical abuse and torture, and finally coerced to sign a confession that he threw stones at a demonstration.
Ayed Abu Eqtaish, the representative of Defence of Children International, Palestine Section puts Fadi’s terrifying experience in context: approximately 700 Palestinian children and teenagers are arrested each year by the Israelis.
… Read entire article »

While the world has been rightfully focused on the Gaza Flotilla, the banality of occupation goes on. In this video (originally posted on Coteret), a twelve year old boy is arrested in Bil’in. An international activist and the boy’s mother plead with the soldiers to release him, but the soldiers ignore them completely, with the complete power of the occupier. The child was apparently working in his olive groves with his family. As the boy is taken away, you can see, not far away at all, the buildings of the nearest settlement. Just another day in Palestine.
… Read entire article »

Ameer Makhoul, Director of Ittijah, a coalition of Palestinian Israeli Community Organizations, was arrested three weeks ago from his home in Haifa. Makhoul was unable to see his lawyer for the first weeks of his arrest and now his lawyers and his family, having seen him, assert that he has been tortured.
Makhoul has not yet been charged with any crime, but the Israeli government is clearly paving the way for his indictment soon, and in the … Read entire article »

By Rebecca Vilkomerson
Well, it seems the fact that it was Noam Chomsky (who is on JVP’s advisory board) who got denied entry to the West Bank because of his politics, the story has broken through to the mainstream media (though not to the New York Times ). Yet again, we have to say: “the only democracy in the Middle East?”
UPDATE: Ethan Bronner has now posted an article, which also lists several examples of similar … Read entire article »